All individuals raising funds for Light The Night will receive an illuminated balloon to carry during the Light The NIght Walks. All individuals raising $100 or more will receive a Light The Night T-shirt.

The following tools are designed to help you kick start your (and your team's) fundraising for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

As always, your Central California Light The Night® Walk staff are here to help you with any fundraising ideas. Feel free to contact us anytime! Good luck and have fun.

ALWAYS REMEMBER TO:

Start Early: The earlier you start, the more time you have.

Set Goals: Remember, goals = success.

Ask: The key is to ask! If you don't ask, the answer is always no!

Initiate a Letter Writing Campaign: The personal appeal letter is the most efficient way to raise money. Write letters to your family, friends and co-workers to tell them what you are doing and to ask for their support and/or participation. One participant raised more than $10,000 this way. Click here for a sample letter.

Fundraise Online: Now you can recruit donors through our online fundraising tools. Once you are registered, if you provided an email address you are automatically set up with a Light The Night Fundraising Webpage. Friends and family can donate to your webpage via a secure credit card transaction. It's quick and easy for both you and your donors.  

Thank Your Donors:  Follow-up is crucial! You should always send a thank-you letter to your donors following the Walk. This is the perfect time to inform them of your overall success.

Keep it Fun:  Kickoff parties and wrap around events are essential to the success of your team, and they help to keep team members motivated. Perhaps most importantly, wraparound events are a fun way to raise money. You should never forget the fun in fundraising!

TIPS TO RAISE $300 IN ONE WEEK:

Day 1: Start by sponsoring yourself for $25. Set up your personal Light The Night webpage and email your friends to sponsor you.
Day 2: Ask two family members to sponsor you for $25 each.
Day 3: Ask five friends to contribute $10 each.
Day 4: Ask five co-workers to sponsor you for $10 each.
Day 5: Ask five neighbors to contribute $10 cash.
Day 6: Ask your boss for a company contribution of $50.
Day 7: Ask on business you frequent for $25.

The key is to ask! The answer is always no, unless you ask!

For more information and ideas for fundraising, please visit these webpages: Steps to Fundraising Success, Online Fundraising, Wrap Around Events, Fundrasing Items to Sell, & Incentives.

HOW YOUR DOLLARS ARE USED:

75 cents of every dollar spent goes directly towards supporting our mission of a cure. Since it's founding in 1949, the Society has invested more than $411 million in leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma research. Society-funded research has led to key advances in understanding blood cancer and the life-saving drugs to fight them.

THE TRIUMPHS:

• A newly FDA approved drug, Gleevac, has been shown to normalize blood counts in nearly all patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Dr. Brian Druker, a Society-funded researcher, is responsible for this remarkable innovation in cancer research.
• In 1974 the 5 year survival rate for children with the most common form of leukemia was just 53%. Today, 86% of children diagnosed will survive.
• The five year survival rate for Hodgkin's Lymphoma has nearly doubled from 40% in 1960 to 83% today.

THE BATTLES:

• Blood cancers are the second most fatal form of cancer, second only to lung cancer
• Someone is newly diagnosed with a blood cancer every 5 minutes. Every 10 minutes a child or adult loses the fight
• 747,000 Americans are presently battling leukemia, lymphoma and myeloma
• Leukemia is the leading cause of cancer death for children under the age of 20